This invention relates to a tape management method and a tape management system that can easily use a file on a virtual tape from a plurality of programs.
A magnetic tape is one of the recording media that have been used in the past but its access speed is lower when compared with magnetic disks or the like. Therefore, a virtual tape apparatus capable of gaining access at a higher speed than a practical magnetic tape has been developed in recent years by virtually emulating a tape apparatus on a magnetic disk apparatus that can make access at a higher speed.
To eliminate the necessity of a magnetic disk apparatus, U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,648 B1 discloses a virtual tape apparatus which includes a storage device for executing read/write from and to portable disk-like storage media and wherein the medium is mounted to the storage device for establishing connection with a host computer.